Munich Startup: Who are you and what does Scoperty do? Please introduce yourselves!
Michael Kasch, Scoperty: Scoperty is the pre-market for residential real estate. Users find estimated values on an interactive map as well as further information about more than 35 million homes and apartments across Germany. For the first time ever, we transparently display almost the entire German residential property market. Owners and interested buyers can explore potential options for selling or buying even before an official sales process has been launched.
We are 30 people with the most varied backgrounds – data analytics, software programming, sales, real estate, finance, marketing, PR, etc. I worked in the field of financial services and real estate for more than 15 years, which included time at Bain & Company Germany with a focus on banking and as a chief strategy officer at Interhyp AG. I concentrate on financial behavior, strategy development and transformation processes.
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Michael Kasch: Because we display the estimated value of almost all residential properties in Germany, we provide unprecedented market transparency. On conventional portals, interested buyers only find a fraction of properties because many are sold privately. Moreover, while many owners might be considering selling their property, they still shy away from a binding “For Sale” advertisement. On Scoperty, owners who aren’t certain they want to sell yet can test market interest without any obligation and improve their basis for decision as a result, or they can accept an attractive offer from an interested buyer.
Scoperty generates more than classic sales offers
Munich Startup: But that’s nothing out of the box!
Michael Kasch: With Scoperty, potential property buyers can see property data and estimated values online for the first time ever in Germany for over 11,000 cities and towns and more than 380 districts. Existing portals only display about one percent with their advertisements, which is a very small segment of the residential property market. Since 18 November 2020, Scoperty has increased the offer of available residential properties many times over. For the first time, owners can find out what their property is currently worth on the market without having to invest money or enter into a binding sales process. Interested buyers can see the entire market for the first time instead of just classic sales offers. They also gain access to real estate that is not officially for sale but is “open to offers,” which allows them to make offers proactively. We also offer support with financing.
Munich Startup: What was your biggest challenge so far?
Michael Kasch: The biggest challenge was and is explaining what we offer and how it works. This is because our offer is radically new and therefore unexpected. We’ve coined a new word for it – “pre-market.” For owners, it means they can ideally prepare for the sales process. Thanks to the estimated value and its development, they can get an impression of how attractive their property is compared to the rest of the market. Moreover, they can also gauge demand by switching their property to “open to offers.” For those looking for properties, Scoperty opens up the market and makes it possible to proactively look at real estate that is not officially for sale. This allows them to contact owners who haven’t started the sales process yet and to convince them to make a sale.
“We’re focused on the German market at the moment”
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, and where in five years?
Michael Kasch: We’re primarily concentrating on growing in the German market.
Munich Startup: What do you think about Munich as a startup location?
Michael Kasch: With its large startup community and numerous support programs, Munich offers young entrepreneurs the perfect conditions. It’s also worth highlighting the digital infrastructure and opportunities for cooperation with other companies. On top of that, many local incubators and venture capitalists support founders in making their business ideas a reality. I would also like to mention the startup centers and degree courses for starting a business, which you find in abundance in Munich.
Munich Startup: Hidden champion or shooting star?
Michael Kasch: Neither of the two – more of a rising star. But at the moment, we’re focused on further growth in the German market, which is where we see enormous potential. Like I mentioned before, the property offers that have been available online up to now only represent a small part of the market.